'arylate' originates from modern chemical word-formation combining 'aryl' + the suffix '-ate'. 'aryl' itself is formed from 'aromatic' (root for aromatic compounds) with the radical suffix '-yl', where 'aryl' meant 'an aromatic radical or group used in organic chemistry.'

'aryl' was coined in 19th-century organic chemistry from 'aromatic' + '-yl'; chemical nomenclature later appended '-ate' (from classical suffixes used for salts/esters and anions) to form terms like 'arylate'. Over time the compound word 'arylate' appeared in technical literature to denote esters/anions and the verb form meaning 'to introduce an aryl group'.

Initially the elements referred specifically to an 'aromatic radical' (aryl). Over time the combined form 'arylate' came to denote both the chemical species (aryl-derived ester/anion) and the action of introducing an aryl group ('to arylate').